House Republicans are preparing to potentially sue GOP Gov. John Kasich over taking Medicaid
expansion to the state Controlling Board, and they would base their lawsuit on the arguments laid
out in a formal protest they filed yesterday.

Thirty-nine GOP representatives signed a letter in protest of Kasich’s plan to ask the
seven-member legislative-spending oversight panel on Monday to approve $2.56 billion in federal
money over two years to cover about 275,000 more poor Ohioans under Medicaid. They said Kasich’s
maneuver will circumvent the “clear intent of the General Assembly,” a violation of Ohio law.

The letter, apparently written by Republican Rep. Lou Terhar of Cincinnati, was based on
research provided by Maurice Thompson, executive director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional
Law. Thompson, who confirmed his research, told
The Dispatch last night that should the Controlling Board approve Kasich’s request, a
lawsuit could soon follow and Thompson would be “the lawyer doing the suing.”

“It not even finalized yet, so it’s too soon to say precisely who the plaintiffs would be, but
clearly (House Republicans) would seem most well positioned for legal action,” Thompson said.

Republican House Speaker William G. Batchelder of Medina signed the letter and seemed to
downplay its impact, saying it simply “raises that issue” of a constitutional breach rather than
accusing Kasich of doing so.

“It’s obviously where one house of the General Assembly is, and obviously also not a majority. I
think there were 30-some signatures so there may be less here than meets the eye,” Batchelder
said.

But when he was asked by reporters if he thought a legal challenge would come of Kasich’s going
to the Controlling Board, he said, “That is possible.”

The basis of a lawsuit would be that House Republicans stripped Kasich’s original proposal to
expand Medicaid from the state budget, and then the final budget the General Assembly sent to
Kasich for his signature included language prohibiting the state from expanding Medicaid. But
Kasich used a line-item veto to strike the prohibition from the budget, and lawmakers left in the
budget a section authorizing the state Medicaid director to do the expansion.

“Ohio law is clear that the Medicaid director has the authority to expand,” said Kasich
spokesman Rob Nichols. “General Assembly approval in the Controlling Board on Monday would
allow the administration to take the next step under the law to provide health coverage for working
Ohioans, veterans and people battling mental illness or addiction.”

He provided a release from law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease saying “the Controlling
Board may lawfully act on this request.” The legal opinion was sought by the Ohio Provider Resource
Association, a group providing services to more than 15,000 Ohioans with developmental
disabilities.

Batchelder would not rule out replacing Reps. Ron Amstutz of Wooster and Cliff Rosenberger of
Clarksville on the Controlling Board, saying he would talk with both men and with the governor
before any decision was made. Both have indicated they would vote against expansion, but they are
also both running to replace Batchelder in 2015. Some say their votes could appear to be conflicted
by intra-House politics.

Sen. Chris Widener, R-Springfield, is widely thought to be the probable “yes” vote Kasich needs
from the Controlling Board to win Medicaid expansion. Kasich’s appointee and two Democrats on the
panel are expected to provide the other assents.

The Buckeye Institute, a conservative research group and vocal opponent of Medicaid expansion,
held an event last night at the Athletic Club called “Expert Answers to the Medicaid Question.”
Among the panelists were Paula Stannard, former acting general counsel of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, and Dennis Smith, former director of the federal Center for
Medicaid.

One topic was the potential for Medicaid expansion to shrink Ohio’s labor market. The Buckeye
Institute has been pushing a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which argues
that expanding access to public health insurance is a disincentive for some people to work.

The Kaiser Family Foundation disagrees and says that more than 6 in 10 people who do not
currently have insurance have at least one person in their family who works.